San Jose: Son saves elderly mom from burning room after hearing smoke detector

SAN JOSE -- Fire officials said a smoke detector may have saved the life of an elderly woman who caught her bed alight while smoking a cigarette Wednesday night, but was unable to escape on her own.

Crews responding to reports of a bedroom fire on Sutcliff Avenue near Rio Verde Drive in South San Jose found the three occupants of the home outside, two with minor burns, and heavy smoke coming out of the house.

According to San Jose fire Capt. Rob Brown, the woman's son said he was alerted to the fire by a smoke alarm going off in his mother's bedroom. He went in and saw that his mother had rolled onto the floor, and picked her up to evacuate her from the house. Neighbors who saw and smelled the smoke also entered the house, and helped carry the woman out.

"He told us that if he had not heard the alarm, he would have had no idea that the room was on fire, and she was not capable of getting out of the room," Brown said.

He said the woman and her son were transported to a hospital, and the Red Cross is working with the family to find temporary housing. Brown said most of the damage was contained to the mattress and bedroom, but it could have been much worse if the fire had been allowed to spread.

"The fire would have definitely increased in size and she could have perished," he said. "As it was the smoke detector caught it early enough and the son got in rapidly enough to rescue her."

He added that the fire department strongly discourages smoking in bed, and strongly encourages residents to make sure they have working smoke detectors.